Rookie in Rio has eyes opened

Jacob Brown (Newshub)
Jacob Brown (Newshub)

One of the great things about the Olympic Games is that it's not just the ultimate test for athletes.

City officials are judged on how good the transport and logistics are, construction workers are the ones who get the blame if buildings fail - and a reporter's success hinges on how well they perform!

I guess that's where I come in.

There are a lot of firsts for me here; first time to South America, first time travelling to a country where English isn't the main language, first time covering a major news event for work.

It's exciting, testing and bloody nerve-wracking all at the same time.

Even though we arrived in Rio last night, the fact that we're finally here is still sinking in.

Most of the flight from Auckland was during the night, so descending into Rio could have been the same as descending into Auckland - a lot of lights, patches of ocean, motorways.

Then I saw it, high up on a hill in the distance. It looked tiny from the plane, but there was no mistaking Christ the Redeemer, glowing white and standing tall above the lights of the city below. That's when it started to hit home that I really am in Rio.

Pretty quickly I started to get a taste of what our news operation will be like while we're over here. I looked around earlier and it was neat to see everyone preparing in their own way. The camera guys were sussing out places to shoot live-crosses, the editor was checking equipment and making sure his laptop was ready to do its job, and the reporters were prepping notes or brainstorming ideas for the week ahead.

I also got my first look at a bunch of the stadiums at Barra Olympic Park this afternoon! Amazing to see up close after seeing it only in videos and pictures for so long.

We checked out the main press centre where a lot of the press conferences will be held. Members of the Refugee Olympic Team were speaking in one room when I arrived, so I ducked inside for a quick look.

I've never seen so many cameras - there were two tiers, each about 20 metres long, lined with camera operators. There must have been hundreds of seats for journalists too.

There was plenty around today, but I think I'll have much more to see in the next few weeks when things really start kicking off.

Newshub.